Gut bacteria could affect virus immunity

THE make-up of a person’s gut microbiome may play a part in the severity of a Covid-19 infection, a new study suggests.

Researchers set out to examine whether the variety and volume of bacteria in the gut, known as the microbiome, played a role in Covid-19, despite it being a respiratory illness.

The team from Hong Kong examined blood, stool and patient records from 100 hospital patients with Covid-19, and 27 participants provided samples 30 days after the infection had passed. They also collected samples from 78 people without Covid-19 taken in a microbiome study before the pandemic. The team, led by researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, found that gut microbiome composition was “significantly altered” in patients with Covid-19 compared to people who do not have the disease. The study, published in the journal Gut, concludes the gut microbiome could be involved in the “magnitude of Covid-19 severity possibly via modulating host immune responses”. The authors found that patients with Covid-19 were depleted in gut bacteria known to modify a person’s immune response.